Advertising device



J 1934- J. K. OBRIEN 1,964,477

ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed April 20, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVE T03 JmeslCO men TQRNEY June 26, 1934. J. K. OBRIEN 1,964,477

ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed April 20, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN E TOR c7522? es if. rz'en NEY Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE ADYEKTISYING DEVICE Betz ApplicationApril, 20', 1933, Serial No. 666,995

10 Claims.

The object of the invention broadly is; to provide improvements in animated devices, which are particularly adapted for advertising purposes.

While the invention as an advertising device might be used for numerous purposes and accordingly. constructed in many different ways, it is here, shown as being designed to illustrate the movements of various individuals, all of which are in the act of wiping, cleaning, abrading,

j polishing or otherwise operating upon, the surfacev of some article, as distinguished from an automatic toy or the like in which the figure merely moves aimlessly to and fro, or in fact in any given path.

Another object therefore, as illustrative of the principle involved, is to provide a suitable surface representing a floor or wall, a mop, broom, brush, or the like, movable over such surface, and a suitably driven figure controlling the movement of such mop, broom etc., so as to simulate the natural movements of a person doing similar work.

A further object is to provide a miniature house, as representative of a building of any par,- ticular sort, and at least a portion of the walls of such house being cut away or made transparent, in order to reveal therein one'or more, figures in the act of treating various surfaces, in the different rooms of the house if desired, as, for instance one figure cleaning a bath tub in the bathroom, another figure polishing a floor in a chamber, still another cleaning dishes in the kitchen, another polishing an automobile at the door of the garage, and as many different additional figures doing corresponding work as may be, necessary to. convey a so-called advertising story, message,

or explanation.

Still another object is to use, either in combination with or separate from the foregoing, a suitable figure, such as a humanized can, box, or package, of the material being advertised, such can or the like being operated so as to make it appear that it alone is causing the obviously artificial animation of the figures hereinbefore referred to.

With these and other objects in mind, the invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are fully brought out in the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section thru the base portion of thedevice as shown in Fig. l

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a miniature 5; house with portions of its walls broken away to Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail View of the supporting structure for the turntable shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown primarily an automaton 1, mounted upon a box-like base 2, within which latter is properly mounted any suitable type of motor 3, The automaton may be of any desired kind, the masculine figure shown being merely representative of any and all forms which might be used to convey the idea in mind, which in this instance is designed to symbolize a person applying a particular cleaning preparation, and the resulting contrast between that portion of the base 2 to which such preparation has been applied, and the neighboring portions which are still not thus cleaned;

In order to illustrate one method by which the said automaton can bev actuated, it is shown as,

being supported in the proper position upon the upright shaft 4, which extends in this case thru the top Wall 3 of the base 2, and is preferably journalled thru the spaced arms, 5 of a bracket 6, carried either directly by the under surface of said wall, or by a suitable post or the like '7 in turn depending from said Wall. The lower portion of said shaft is provided with a laterally extending arm 8, to the outer free end of which is pivotally. secured a link 9 whichis connected to'a disc, wheel, gear, pinion, or other suitable element 10, rotated by the motor. The points of connection between the shaft and link and between the link and the driving disc, or the like, may be altered if and whenever desired, in order to vary the amplitude of oscillation ofthe automaton about the axis of itssupporting shaft.

The upper wall 3 of the base 2 it will be noted presents .a definite surface, which, is representative of an indefinite number of surfaces which might as wellbe employed for thepurpose of advertising a cleanser, paint, varnish, or other material, which by its nature is'designed for use upon or in intimate association with a given surface. In this instance the automaton is provided with a mop, broom, or the like 11, which as the former oscillates swings to and fro (as indicated by the arrow) across said surface substantially along the path indicated by the dot-anddash lines 12. That portion of said surface between these lines may be differently colored; from the remainder of said surface, in order to graphically and vividly suggest to observers that the mop 11 or the like has efficiently cleaned, pai'ntedi (if a brush is used), or otherwise treated, the path over which such mop or the like moves. Such a device, not only attractsinstant attention because of its novelty and its activity, but has been found to most satisfactorily impart definite information, or to tell a story, regarding a given product, usually displayed in close proximity to the device. In any case, the intention is to broadly cover various types of automata and the methods by which they operate, in definite relation to a given surface, such operation being usually parallel with and relatively closely adjacent to such surface, since that class of articles primarily designed to be advertised by the device intimately relate to surfaces and their treatment.

Referring now to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, a preferably hollow base 17 is shown, in which is positioned a driving shaft 18, adapted to be rotated by a motor or the like, represented by the fly-wheel or disc 19. A crank 20 on said shaft may be connected thru a link 21 and arm 22 to an oscillatable shaft 23, upon which is mounted an automaton 24, carrying a broom, mop, or other suitable extension 25, which is normally movable in the direction of the double ended arrow 26 across the upper surface 27 of the base 15, similar to and for a like purpose to that hereinbefore described. Another crank 28 on said shaft may be connected thru a link 29 to a pulley 30, which may be suitably connected as by a belt or other desired power-transmission means to a pulley 31, carried by a hollow shaft 32, which extends upwardly thru the upper wall surface 27 of said base and carries a turntable 33, supporting a different form of automaton 34, which may assume the form of a box, can, or other container, of the material being advertised, with a head 35 if desired, along with arms 36, connected to a crank 37. This crank appears to turn, but in reality is turned by a suitable gear 38, in mesh with a gear 39 upon the upper end of a stationary shaft 40, which extends thru the hollow tubular shaft 32. By this construction, the animated can or the like 34 appears to be actuating the automata of the device, whereas it is in reality turned by the motor 19, and rotates with the turntable 37 about the axis of the latter.

Continuing along the shaft 18, another crank 41 is connected by a link 42 to an arm 43 of an automaton 44, said arm carrying a brush, or other cleaning, polishing, painting, etc. member 45, and being operative to oscillate said member to and fro as indicated by the arrows, in this instance suggesting the cleaning of the entire house, by moving across the surface of the roof.

Still other cranks 46 and 47 upon said driving shaft are connected thru links 48 to any desired number of automata 49 and 50, which are positioned within rooms of the house or building 51, the first of said last-mentioned automata being engaged in scrubbing clothes in the basement room 52, while the latter is engaged in cleaning the tub in the bathroom 53. The other automata in the bed chamber 54, in the kitchen 55, upon the porch 56, wiping the garage door 57, and dusting the automobile 58, may likewise be connected to said driving shaft, if desired, in order that they too may be animated, and thereby better illustrate the widely varied and numerous uses of the material being advertised by the device.

I am aware. that the invention may be embodied inother specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A device for advertising the function of a material for treating surfaces, the device having a surface provided with areas of contrasting colors, a body substantially perpendicular to said surface having a part disposed over one of said areas, and means operable to oscillate the body on an axis substantially perpendicular to said surface with the area adjacent said part corresponding to the path of movement thereof and simulating the treatment of the last mentioned area by the material advertised by the device.

2. A device for advertising the function of a material for treating surfaces, the device having a support provided with an upper surface having areas of contrasting colors, a body substantially perpendicular to said surface having a part disposed over one of said areas, mechanism concealed within said support operable to oscillate said body on an axis substantially perpendicular to said surface, a driving connection from said mechanism to the body extending through said surface, the area adjacent said part corresponding to the path of movement of said part to simulate the manual treatment of the last mentioned area by the material advertised by the device.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said means consists of a motor, 'a crank shaft driven by said motor, and an operating connection from the crank of said shaft to the body.

4. A device according to claim 2 wherein said means consists of a motor, a crank shaft driven by said motor, and an operating connection from the crank of said shaft to the body.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein the junction of said part and remainder of the body is in spaced relation to said surface.

6. A device according to claim 1 wherein the said part and the remainder of the body constitute legs of a triangle closed by a line in said surface.

'7. A device according to claim 1 wherein said body is an automaton and said part simulates a tool, the junction of said part and automaton being in spaced relation to said surface.

8. A device according to claim 1 wherein said means consists of a motor, and operating mechanism driven by said motor connected to the lower end of the body.

9. A device of the class described comprising a simulated structure, elements at different location of the structure to simulate different work performed by the use of a commodity advertised, a support for the structure, a motor concealed Within the support, a shaft driven by the motor having cranks, connections from the cranks to said elements to impart motion to the elements.

10. In an advertising device, the combination of a stationary shaft carrying a gear, a turntable rotatably surrounding said shaft, an automaton mounted upon said turntable, a gear also carried by said turntable and meshing with said first gear, a crank rotatable with said second gear, and a connection between said crank and said automaton to cause an oscillatory motion of said automaton.

JAMES K. OBRIEN. 

